Looking back, looking forward: The faces and hands that stole my heart

In the summer of 2011, I had the opportunity to join over thirty of my fellow Wittenberg students for a month-long service trip to Lesotho. As many before me have said, it is an experience that is almost impossible to put into words. Each time I reflect, my mind wanders to a different element of the experience. The work was hard, but as we drove by fields and homes on our way to the day’s worksite, I saw men and women–small children even–bent over at their own work. The drive every day told the same story: to Morija, Maseru, Motsekua, Roma. Everywhere we looked, the Basotho were tending to their fields; feeling the strain in my muscles, therefore, was my own personal way of honoring those who are chained to that unyielding earth day after day in the struggle to get by.

The plains, the skies, the mountains: everything brought me back to the people I met there. When I sit under that great sky, surrounded by the Maluti mountains, I realize the enormity of the universe, the seemingly infinitesimal space my being holds They bear witness and struggle on. In the face of unimaginable suffering, kicking a soccer ball, showing me a pair of hand-crafted wire glasses, looking up at my face–somehow brings a smile to theirs. As I sat wrapped in a blanket under the endless expanse of stars at the Ramabanta trade post, nestled high in the mountains, I was shown the brilliance of each seemingly tiny light–whether stationary in the sky or hurtling toward the earth. Each of the people, especially the children, who I was lucky enough to meet are just like those stars. They are so small, easily overlooked by those with a provincial mindset; they are the faces all too often forgotten. But the trip showed me these children, and I witnessed sights that caught my eye and brought a knot to my throat, as a tiny hand stole over my heart.for this moment in time. But the people I met are indeed magnanimous.

Khothatso, my thirteen-year-old mokhotsi, (friend,) is the owner of that hand. I got to know him and his baby brother during the weeks we stayed at Thorns in Roma. There is so much life, so much vigor in his tiny frame! His eyes are old and deep; they seem to hold the secrets of the universe and wisdom far beyond their years. One evening as we walked down the street, holding hands as I held his brother in my other arm, he rattled on excitedly about his future, his schoolwork, and the letters we’d exchanged that day; my mind settled on the only way I knew how to capture those eyes: un mundo en sus ojos, “a world in his eyes.” I walked in silence, amazed. The boy clasping my hand whose face was hunger-stricken, full of pain and beauty, smiled up at me as he gave me these precious moments that have changed my life. The boy hugging tightly to my other arm, with legs wrapped around my waist, is only one of the millions born dying.

So the trip, which started out being focused on work and service, ended up being focused on people. The other students and I were motivated each day to complete our work to give as best as we could to the people that were moving our hearts and changing our lives. The little voices outside the gate at Thorns, the faces that peeped around the brick wall each time we walked by became the center of our world there. The calls of “shoot me! Shoot me!” were ceaseless; therefore, the picture-taking was endless. And each time one of us would capture the flitting of these little bodies in our rectangular frames, the camera would be torn from us by the tiny hands clamoring to see what the box would show: their own faces. This aspect of the trip, then, aligned very well with one of our intended tasks; we showed these children their own faces in the pictures we took, just as we endeavored to show the Basotho through our work tasks the power they have within to help themselves.

In looking back, I notice that the children of Lesotho embody one of my favorite quotes: “happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue” (Viktor E. Frankl). The “pursuit of happiness,” a goal so widely sought after by many in the United States, is not dependent upon the things in your possession, the degree attached to your name, or the measure of the fame you’ve accrued. I saw happiness in the giggles and full-belly laughs that escaped in white wisps into the frigid morning air, in the warmth of community that held the cold at bay, in the bond I formed with those who were on my trip. I saw happiness on the mouths bent into grins, in the smiling eyes that glistened with an indescribable power. I felt happiness in the squeezes of the tiny hands that yearned to hold mine as we ran, in the excited elbow nudges from kids successfully scrambling to take the soccer ball from my significantly less-practiced feet. I felt the happiness in my own heart as I looked at these faces, as I looked up at those Ramabanta stars.

This happiness fills me even as I write this, in thinking of my past experience and in looking forward. I have the wonderful opportunity of accompanying Dr. Rosenberg and another set of around thirty Wittenberg students to Lesotho this winter. I am so looking forward to spending my holidays giving back to the people who have changed my heart and changed my life. I can’t wait to experience the wonder, the amazement, the beauty all over again and to see a new set of students as their minds churn, their views shift, and their lives change. I am looking forward to the happiness that no one can buy.

Khotso, Pula, Nala.

Kali

Kali Almdale is approaching her final year at Wittenberg University, where she is pursuing degrees in Biology and English.  Kali traveled to Lesotho in June of 2011.

Meetings - Lesotho Style: Lesotho Update #2

Andrew and Billy have been staying busy with meetings, meetings and more meetings! Check out the details of their fun, educational and motivational engagements below....

On Thursday:
We met with the Principal of Fatima Primary School in Ramabanta,
Lesotho. We heard about the struggles, the challenges, the successes,
and the opportunities at her school.

We also met with Lerato, who is a leader in the village. She spoke to
us about how great her village is, as well as the crushing realities
of HIV/AIDS and orphans in her village. She will be a great partner
for BLOOM.

We had some nice meetings with ladies that are making and selling
scarves and knit hats from scratch, all the way from the stage of
receiving wool, to spinning it, to knitting it. We also met with a
guy in the community that makes art from rocks that he grounds.

On Friday morning:

We met with the the Principal of the primary school in Roma and the
the lady volunteering her time to run Leratong Community Center. It
was very insightful hearing from both of them.

We also met with Little Angels to check up on our project there. The
water is running perfectly and the kids were all smiling. We spoke
with Rose and Kennedy there and dropped off shoes for kids there
without them.

We have built some very nice relationships during our time here, as
well as learned how to best work with the Basotho people. We are
looking forward to updating you in more detail!

Another post full of big things for BLOOM and the orphans of Lesotho!! The BLOOM team is looking forward to creating lasting relationships and designing projects with all of these wonderful people!

Kings, Kids & Colleges: Lesotho Update #1

Lumela, friends! Andrew and Billy have been extremely busy the past few days in Lesotho. All of their hard work is paying off, though, as they continue to make new connections and generate new support for BLOOM. Here is a look at what they've accomplished, what they've been doing and what they'll be bringing back to the BLOOM Africa team!

We are currently in Maseru after meeting with a professor who teaches at the National University of Lesotho.

We arrived in Lesotho on Saturday night after a busy day of driving and seeing some folks. Sunday we spent the day in the community in Roma, and did some hiking. After spending the morning with some children in the village, we traveled to visit the Lesotho Child's Counseling Unit. This was a place of safety for children who have been badly abused or abandoned. The Wittengerg trips have been going to this site for the last number of years and volunteering there. Sadly, in November, the structure caught fire and was completely burned down. It was very sad to be back and see the charred ashes of a building that used to have so much happiness and joy inside its walls.

On Monday we spent the day with the Springfield Rotary Club in Motsekua, where they were dedicating the orphanage they have funded. His Majesty King Letsie III attended the large celebration, and gave the closing remarks at the program. After the program, we had lunch with His Majesty, and both William and I were able to meet him and discuss BLOOM Africa and our vision. We also connected with contacts from the US Embassy. After the event, we visited a school and orphanage, and spent time with the school's principal. We learned a lot about the challeneges that primary and high schools are now facing in Lesotho.

Tuesday was a busy day for us, spent in Maseru. We spent the moring at Kick4Life, an NGO using soccer to combat HIV and empower youth. We met the new director and are excited about the potential to work together in the future. That afternoon we had a meeting with the Director of the Peace Corps in Lesotho, and gained many new contacts that will be beneficial to moving forward. Later in the afternoon we met with our contacts who run soccer tournaments in Thaba Bosiu that promote healthy living and empowerment.

Today we met with the professor and will be visiting Little Angels. This afternoon we will head to Ramabanta where we will spend two nights. We hope to speak to some teachers there to hear of the difficulties of teaching in rural Lesotho. We will not have access to internet until Friday evening.

Yesterday was Billys birthday and we certainly celebrated in a good fashion! We raced up a mountain with just enough time to spare to catch the sunset, another beautiful evening in the Mountain Kingdom.

Love you all and wish you were here!!!

Big things are coming our way, folks!! Stay tuned for more updates, more good news and more ways you can help us help the orphans of Lesotho!

**Should anyone want/need to get ahold of either Andrew or Billy, you may call their Lesotho cell phone at (266) 57 40 27 93.

Holding Hands For Life

As a former student of international studies and international politics, AIDS has been an area of academia that I've constantly been exposed to. However, it wasn't until the summer of 2011, when I became immersed in an AIDS environment, that I actually realized how deeply the disease affects me, even as someone who is not HIV+.

This past summer I spent 6 weeks in southern Africa as part of a Fulbright program focused on education. During this time, we traveled throughout the southern part of the continent and experienced many different peoples, cultures, traditions, economies and political structures.  It was an incredible experience in so many ways, and it is something that I will forever cherish. Although I was moved by a variety of things throughout the trip, the most emotional and profoundly affecting experiences were the times spent with those suffering from or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Throughout the preparations for the trip, and even during the first week of the trip, I mentally prepared myself for what I was about to experience. I read about AIDS, I read about Lesotho, I read about people who have spent time in the region and have been affected by the disease. I read, I read, I read. However, no amount of reading could have fully prepared me for this experience.

I guess you could say that I was fortunate to have a gradual introduction to what life really is like for those affected by AIDS. Our first week in Lesotho was spent in Morija, where we stayed at a wonderful guest house that was also a temporary home to a lovely Canadian family who was there adopting a young girl, Rethabile. Billy, as they called her, was an AIDS orphan who was left with no family and therefore sent to a large orphanage in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. I was fortunate to build a relationship with this family and to be able to talk to them nightly about their experience. The conversation I remember most was about the orphanage in which Billy was placed. They described it in detail, painting vivid pictures of rooms full of hundreds of orphans lying on the ground because there was no funding for beds, mess halls full of bugs, kids running around with little or no clothing and no shoes at all. As I listened to their story with tears in my eyes, I looked over at little Billy and made a personal vow to do everything I could to help children like her. Although this was incredibly emotional, I had yet to experience AIDS first hand.

Upon our arrival in Roma, our second location in Lesotho, we were greeted by several small, friendly, happy children. Some of my fellow travelers suspected that their happiness was due to their association of strangers to free stuff, but I like to believe that they are genuinely happy just to have someone to play with for a few minutes. Before even unloading our luggage from the bus, we went out to meet and spend a little time with the children. We were swarmed immediately, as kids grabbed our hands, our waists and our legs…and didn't let go. They showed us their school, their community center and their homes. We skipped and ran and laughed and played. We attempted conversations that fell flat after a few sentences of broken English, but rebounded with smiles and body language. We never let go of their hands. This continued for a while until it was time for us to go back to our lodgings. I cried as I walked away. I cried as we unloaded and unpacked. I cried myself to sleep as I laid in my comfortable bed with a full stomach, a pillow under my head and a heater on full blast. I cried for the kids who have so little, who are so sick, who have lost their family to AIDS, who are so happy and continue to smile, laugh and play despite the circumstances. Nothing I read prepared me for those emotions.

The rest of our time in Roma was spent in the local school and community centers where we played with and taught hundreds of kids, many who either have or have been directly affected by AIDS. In fact, one of my favorite kids was clearly HIV+. There were hundreds of kids like her, but for some reason, she became mine. Everyday she would find me and welcome me with a smile and a hug and a sweet greeting in her best English. At the end of the day, she would proudly show me things she made or toys she brought with her. On our last day working with the kids, my girl and I said our final goodbye and handed each other a small token to remember the other by. Due to the language barrier I never heard her story, and that makes me sad to this day. I cherish the time spent with her....the games played, the lessons taught and of course the dancing. Maybe someday I'll see her again, but for now, I can only look at the small rock she gave me, think of her often and hope she's doing well.

On one of our final days in Roma, we were lucky enough to have a visit from an HIV+ woman named Daphne. Daphne talked with us at length about how AIDS has affected her and how it affects the community in general. She described the stigmas associated with the disease and how she dealt with them. She told us about how it affected her physically, mentally and emotionally. How it has affected her family, her husband, her children, her reputation and her employment status. She shared her entire experience with us...complete strangers. I learned so much from her, not only about the disease itself, but also about personal strength, the importance of family and the role of AIDS in Lesotho.

These experiences are responsible for who I am now and what I plan to do in the future. This is when I realized that I could no longer associate AIDS with statistics and graphs. Instead, I now think of people....real people with real struggles and real lives. Real people who need our help. Some of you may be wondering about that vow I made when learning about Billy's struggle. In a nutshell, I've vowed to help in a variety of ways, including fundraising, returning to that beautiful Kingdom in the Sky to volunteer, working with BLOOM Africa and (eventually) adopting my very own Billy.

My connection with BLOOM Africa was random, unplanned and unexpected, but, I believe, meant to be.  I couldn’t have found a more perfect organization through which to act on my vow and devote myself to helping those beautiful children affected by such an ugly disease.  Although my work with BLOOM Africa is new, I’m so excited to say that I already feel like I am making a difference.  I’ll be involved with BLOOM in a variety of different areas, however my main role will be that of Education Officer.  Through this role I plan on creating and implementing educational curricula in community centers throughout Lesotho.  These curricula will provide orphans with the skills and knowledge necessary to support themselves and to live happy, healthy and successful lives.  As an educator and humanitarian, I love nothing more than supporting others in their journey to betterment.  I am so humbled (and excited!!) to have been asked to join the BLOOM Africa team and I can’t wait to see what we, with your help, can do for the children of Lesotho.

Khotso le lerato,

Erica

This blog entry was written by BLOOM Africa team member, Erica Coffman.